Aibu to wonder how you can claim JSA for years

[Talkativeparrot]

I know a couple who are in mid 20s. They have claimed JSA for five years plus one claims carers entitlement but does no caring. They get rent and council tax paid. Basically their lives seem to be one big day out. There are loads of jobs available locally so why do they not get made to try one. Doesn't make sense to me.

I need DH to pass his test first. I doubt I would be allowed to drive with the amount of morphine I am on. And I have to self medicate with alcohol at times when I have no morphine. So yeah, it needs to be him, as even with the morphine I get terrible pain attacks which would be dangerous when driving

Given I have been waiting as year already, I reckon he could pass his test before I get seen.

16 years my nieces “father” has been claiming job seekers!!! Iv always wondered how he gets away with it.

This is the problem when illnesses are invisible. Do you know for sure that the person claiming isnt actually caring?

Any passerby in the street looking at me would assume I am physical and mentally well member of society when in actual fact if you look under the surface you would see a barely functional machine.

I have multiple files detailing my physical health and mental health issues.

My godfather claims carers allowance for me and a small amount of UC. He has to prompt me on a daily basis to have a shower or bath, he has to check that I have eaten and so many other issues. He is becoming responsible for my finances and occasionally needs to drop things to be there when I become unwell. He takes me to every appointment and if I am going to a new place he has to come with me as I can get distressed. Sometimes the caring isn't black and white.

I live in an area with Universal Credit also with lots of work. The guy I posted about is 28 can drive and has a car. He admits he doesn't want to work and that they are better off on benefits.

His partner is 25 she has only worked for 1 year since leaving school. She is now expecting her 3rd child.

It makes me angry that some people expect others to fund their lifestyle. Why have another child when neither of you work? She has told me they get around £1,600 a month!

I worked full time for over 40 years and had to give up work because of ill health. Not entitled to any benefits though, I have to wait until I am 66 for my pension,

My OH has worked for 45 years and will have to work for another 5 years until he is 67.

He had a heart attack a couple of years ago and was told to take it easier and not work full time. He is self employed and cannot afford to do that. We asked what benefits we would be entitled to - none!

BabyRoobs
Why do you think she will be in for a shock?

She knows she’ll receive less money and is already saving in preparation for it, but they aren’t going to start switching people onto universal credits until next July in her area so she isn’t worrying about it yet.

I agree with mydogisthebest I too do not understand the mentality of actually choosing to have a child whilst on benefits: it's a different story of course if you already have kids and become unemployed through no fault of your own.

My ex has been on jsa for about 6 years. So its definitely a thing that some people just dont want to work. Means he only pays £13 a fortnight for 4 kids .

l agree 100% with knittingdad. l'm currently on JSA after being on ESA after needing major surgery two years ago. l get just over half my rent paid. Then from my JSA, before l get it, they take money out to pay back a crisis loan l had to get, and £100 a month to cover my gas and electric payments/arrears.
This means l get very little in benefits and certainly not enough to make up the shortfall in my rent, never mind living expenses.
Fortunately in September l turn 60, which means l get my workplace pension. l was in that job for 28 years, so l'm certainly not workshy or idle. Once l get that (and the accompanying lump sum) l can sort out my finances and pay back the friends who have been kind enough to keep me solvent over the past few months. l'll likely lose most of my housing benefit though, so it's swings and roundabouts.
Believe me, being on benefits is no picnic. l've had the most stressful 18 months of my life on them.

Atomic - people don't necessarily get less money on UC. I was saying she will be in for a shock because UC is much more punitive and they will try a lot harder to get people into work. People are expected to job search for 35 hours a week, if they don't there are sanctions, unless of course they have good reason to do less.

Inthelightof, I just dont understand why some people are allowed tl claim JSA for years if theycare able to work. It teally is not fair and why are some Job Centres lenient and others not

If you're going to be spending 35 hours a week looking for work you should get paid for 35 hours of work!

You cannot receive carers allowance and js a. Ok, get your facts right.

That's supposed to say OP not ok. . . . And I hate these threads saying the poor shouldn't have children.

Do you honestly believe everyone claiming JSA is spending 35 hours a week looking for work?

I am not saying people on benefits should not have children. I am saying though that to have a second child when neither parent is working is pretty irresponsible and then to go and and have a third (and yes the child is planned) is taking the piss.

Why the hell should some people decide work is beneath them but they will still have children and all the idiots that work can pay for them?

As I said, I worked for over 40 years full time NO breaks and only gave because I had to because of ill health. I did jobs I hated in order to earn a wage as has my DH over the years.

Yes if we live long enough we will get a pension but we have paid in for it and for more years than are needed for full pension. We won't get any extra for that will we?

You have to prove you are applying for jobs. If not you will be sanctioned.
Some people are unemployable.

My mum has been on JSA for decades. Occasionally she will get ESA but mostly it’s JSA.

She has a shit life. Lives in one room. Is constantly being evicted as she gets sanctioned for not going to appointments so then ends up homeless.

She has literally nothing at all. Once she has bought food and utility. There is nothing left for clothes either.

She had a brain injury 30 years ago which effected her higher functioning so she doesn’t see the consequences of not attending appointments or spending the right amount of time looking for work

We don't spend anything like £21 per day on living. In a job, good wage.

i don't know how they do it but they are out every day thanks to Facebook. And here we have yet another person who thinks that because someone is long term sick/disabled,they shouldn't be going out at all. Obviously,all long term sick/disabled people should be housebound,laying in bed all day.

well more fool them for putting their life on Facebook

No idea how they get away with it today but I could totally get it a few years ago, before the tories got in really. I had a couple of student friends that claimed JSA for years and they were never asked for evidence of them hunting for a job (which was lucky because they never did!) They were able to perpetually sign on every week no questions asked.

From what I have heard from friends and students recently, it’s a lot harder now. Lots of evidence needs to be provided every week, you need to attend interviews otherwise you lose your money etc and income support now stops when your child turns five? I believe in the past you could just claim it until they turned 18.

the whole of the Welfare State was much easier years ago,its alot more difficult now

the whole of the Welfare State was much easier years ago, its a lot more difficult now

Don't forget we now have to share it with the half a million migrants we get each year. It has been estimated that most get around 3K each in in-work benefits - child benefit, HB top-ups, tax credits. Plus the majority are in low-paid unskilled work so pay little or no tax back into the pot.

O gods it's a thread for Tory scum to hate immigrants and people on benefits, where the OP somehow mysteriously knows the intimate details of this couple's life...you forgot to mention their huge TV so 2/10...

There's a world of difference between those who receive 'in work' benefits, as a result of being in low paid employment, and those who choose not to work.

Most decent people don't object to their taxes helping people who are doing their best to be self sufficient, but who need a helping hand. But who wants their hard earned money to be spent on supporting able-bodied scroungers or, as the previous Poor Laws described them, 'sturdy beggars'?

And please don't tell me that these people don't exist, because they definitely do. The close family member I referred to previously and partner have both deliberately avoided jobs, because they are 'not like other people', and don't want to be 'wage slaves'.

You could say my life involved a lot of 'days out' when I was on JSA. I used to go out and sit in the library because my house was so freezing cold it was literally making us all ill. Couldn't afford heating AND food and the dread when my kids said 'Can I have something else to eat?' after dinner...

Yeah, in theory you can claim ESA and Carers for a long period of time. Obviously. That's what it's intended for really. But do you know how hard it is to get it in the first place? Their life will NOT be a bed of roses, but they won't go round complaining about it because look how people respond to people on benefits these days! And good luck to 'em once UC comes in in their area!